The present invention relates to the field of cards that incorporate a memory frequently known as smart cards or chip cards.
Numerous devices currently operate with such cards or are intended to be able to operate with them. The cards consist of a rectangular plate in a plastic material incorporating an integrated circuit which is more or less complex but which at the minimum includes a memory and a logic circuit. The dimensions of the plastic rectangle are standardized (length: 85.6 mm, width: 53.98 mm, thickness: 0.76 mm). The dimensions of the integrated circuit with its contact pads are much smaller than the dimensions of the rectangle.
Such cards, referred to hereinafter as "smart cards" have to date been used in association with items of apparatus that are relatively voluminous compared to the size of the cards (consider, for example, telephone cards used with public telephones). The size of the standardized card does not present any problem with this type of apparatus. It is moreover particularly well-suited to being handled by the user, and it can readily be stored in a pocket or a wallet.
Moreover, in the telephone field a new product in the form of portable radio telephones has appeared on the scene. These items of equipment which were fairly voluminous originally are now appearing with much smaller dimensions. Parallel to this and for various reasons (access control, charge metering), an idea is to make them operate with a smart card which should be able to be readily introduced and withdrawn from the equipment. Miniaturization of portable radio telephones has now arrived at such a stage that the conventional smart card is too big for the equipment especially if account is taken of the fact that the latter must include some device for housing the card to ensure normal operation.
As the integrated circuit with its contact pad only occupies a restricted area, reducing the size of the card does not per se create any problems. Thus, reducing the dimensions of smart cards enables them to be used and integrated into products having reduced dimensions while still keeping the cards protected from the outside environment. A smart card of reduced dimensions however leads to difficulties regarding the possibility of withdrawing it from the product to which it is assigned. Moreover, the card needs to be handled and transported when it is withdrawn from the product that receives it. Its extraction and insertion should not reduce its operating capacity and positioning of the card needs to be unambiguous.
When the card is withdrawn from the user equipment it further needs to be protected from the effects of the outside environment. Its small size should not increase its chances of being lost. The invention sets out to overcome these disadvantages.